


The Uncharted Dangers of Eos

by orphan_account



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Adventure, Bros and Aranea, Character Study, Fluff and Angst, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humour, M/M, Shy Noctis, Treasure Hunting, hopefully at least, somewhat AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 06:48:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13161498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Noctis could only stare as the woman flipped up her visor and gave him a diabolical smirk."C'mon, rookie," Aranea Highwind said slyly. "You're tellin' me you don't like an adventure?"***When Noctis receives an unexpected visitor in the shape of the mercenary-turned- treasure hunter Aranea Highwind, he is met with an interesting proposition. The ensuing chaos leads the reserved  Crown Prince of Lucis on a wild goose-chase throughout Eos in pursuit of hidden treasure alongside his royal retinue and the tough dragoon,   where he learns about himself and the world around him in unexpected ways.





	The Uncharted Dangers of Eos

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that came to me after realising that A) I love Aranea Highwind and B) I love adventure stories. I wanted to write a good natured romp through Eos with humour, excitement and feel, and I hope I can rise to the challenge! Hopefully this will be enjoyable!

There were times in Noctis Lucis Caelum’s life where he felt like the hero everybody saw him as. This most certainly was not one of those moments.

 He was sure his companions were thinking the same thing, but he could not quite tell, as the only noises that were coming from their mouths were incoherent groans and grumbled curses. It was bucketing down with rain in Old Lestallum, yet the torrents of water that whipped against their faces did nothing to repel the pervasive odour of chocobo manure, sabertusk gore and mud that clung to their clothes and hair. Gladio in particular looked as though he had rolled in sewage and dipped himself in a swamp for good measure- the result of a one-on-one fight with a pack of mistakenly defensive garulas. Ignis had resolutely refused to allow them to step foot into the Regalia in such a state, and so they had been forced to walk the distance from the hunt they had gone to, which had seemed a short distance away, but now felt considerably longer.

 “I hate everybody and everything,” Prompto announced through chattering teeth, as a particularly powerful gust of wind nearly sent him barrelling off of his feet and into Ignis, who was struggling to see through his rain and mud-splattered spectacles. “Oh, Ramuh, what did we ever do to you?”

 Gladio grunted. “Someone must’ve _really_ upset the Fulgurian if he’s throwing a hissy fit like this. Pussy.”

 “Gladio!” Prompto gasped. “You don’t say shit like that about a god! He might strike you with lightning or something!”

 “Hmph,” Gladio said irritably. “Maybe if I insult Leviathan she’ll send a tsunami to clean the chocobo shit off my jacket.”

 Noctis let out a snort. “And if she kills you in the process?”

 Gladio shrugged. “Two wins for me.”

 As if the gods were listening into their conversation, thunder boomed in the distance, making Prompto yelp and jump. Gladio looked utterly unruffled as he splashed clumsily through a puddle of water. Ignis, wiping his glasses on his jacket, before realising he’d just made his visibility worse, called out, “There’s the motel.”

 Noctis had never been more grateful to see anything in his entire life. The sight of the sad looking neon letters of the Old Lestallum Motel was like the light at the end of a daemon-infested tunnel to him.

 "Thank the _gods,_ ” Prompto gasped, rubbing his hands together to try and gain warmth that was non-existent. “Someone get out the gil, we need to get inside as quickly as possible, and I call fucking _dibs_ on getting the shower first!”

“Fuck you, Prompto!” Gladio said indignantly. “I was the one who fought those garulas, so I’ll be damned if I let your ass get the hot water before me!”

 As they reached the counter of the motel, Ignis gave the two a look that threatened them bodily harm if they started a fight, before clearing his throat. The owner of the motel’s pleasant smile slipped off of his face just as quickly as Prompto had fallen into mire at the sight of them.

 “You boys… look like you need a room,” he said dubiously, his eyes travelling from Noctis, who was looking pointedly at the ground, to Prompto, who was smiling sheepishly as water and mud dripped from his hair to the ground, to Ignis, who looked more undignified than he had ever looked in his life, to Gladio, who would cause damage to the establishment merely by stepping inside it.

 Another clap of thunder sounded as Ignis cleared his throat again, clearly trying to appear more professional and, well, _trustworthy_ than they looked. “We certainly do, sir,” he said politely. “Would you be so kind as to lend us a room for the night? We will pay any fee.”

 “Of course,” the man said, smiling more warmly. Perhaps the words _any fee_ had brightened his perception of them. “That’ll be one thousand gil, please.”

 Noctis rummaged in his pocket before Gladio had the time to open his mouth and protest at the unjust price. He pulled out the money and pressed it into the motel owner’s hand, trying to avoid soiling the man’s clean shirt sleeve. The man smiled at him and he responded with an awkward quirk of the lips.

 “Alright, then,” Ignis said in a businesslike manner, even as a torrent of wind caused his hair to fly upwards from behind. “Let’s get ourselves together.”

 

***

 Four hours after the debacle that had been the fight for the rights to the shower, the royal retinue were looking considerably better than they had done upon entry to the hotel. Noctis, looking to be diplomatic as he really did not want Gladio to act on his threat of throwing his manure-soiled jacket at him, had opted to go last. His noble choice had clearly made the others feel guilty, so that was one point in his favour. As he stood in the shower, letting the heavenly warm water cascade down his back, taking the grime with it, he closed his eyes, letting Gladio’s dulcet tones from outside wash over him.

“Prompto, you idiot, don’t leave your dirty underwear on my bed!”

 “Hey, so that’s where they got to!”

 “I’ll throw you out into the rain, I swear!”

 “Calm down, big guy!”

 Noctis let his fingers run through his hair, gently undoing the knots of mud that were clumped in the locks. His body was stinging somewhat from how hard he had scrubbed it, but it had been worth it, as at least he felt clean, now. And, contrary to Gladio’s belief, the hot water hadn’t run out, even after Prompto’s extensively long shower. He poured shampoo into his hand, which had recently been stitched up due to an impromptu warp strike failure, and scrubbed it through his head.

 He hummed to himself as he heard Ignis berating Prompto and Gladio for arguing. There were times where they were as tight-knit as brothers, and then there were times when they were at each other’s throats as often as the Empire dropped soldiers to ambush them. Noctis often wondered how they had managed to spend so much time with each other without one of them being gravely injured.

 A sudden knocking on the door startled him into getting shampoo in his eyes. Cursing, he quickly washed it out with water. “Yeah?”

 “Hey, Noct, what Cup Noodle flavour do you want?” Prompto called through the door.

 “Mushroom chicken!” Noctis called back. “If we don’t have it, beef!”

 He finished up in the shower, bracing himself for the inevitable rush of cold when he turned off the warm water. He quickly wrapped himself in a towel and dried himself off, before pulling on clean clothes. He draped a towel around his neck as he exited the bathroom, feeling thoroughly better than he had done a while ago.

 Prompto, Ignis and Gladiolus were seated around a table, each eating their own Cup Noodle in rigid silence. Noctis joined them with a faint smile that was not returned. It was clear that their motley crew was not up to their usual banter as they ate their food. Noctis, happy with the silence, as it allowed him time with his thoughts, engaged in a battle with chopsticks and an elusive piece of chicken and enjoyed filling his growling belly. It had been hours since he had last eaten, and although Cup Noodles were far from the ideal cuisine he had been hoping to eat at camp earlier in the day, at least they were _something._

 “Right,” Ignis said flatly, once Gladio had thrown his cup across the room into the bin in an impressive shot that got in. “I think we ought to settle in for the night, because tomorrow is liable to be a long day if we’re planning on finishing the hunts in Old and New Lestallum. Frankly, I’m not looking forward to battling Spiracorns. We had better be well rested.”

Noctis shrugged. “After Lestallum, where do we go?”

“Hammerhead,” Prompto suggested. “Cindy might have stuff for us to do.”

Gladio eyed Prompto with a barely suppressed smirk. “Keep your dick in your pants. She’d just make us travel to some faraway cave to get fibre-glass paint or something.”

 “It keeps the Regalia in squeaky clean condition, for your information!” Prompto said, clearly in an attempt to be dignified. “And my dick is kept firmly under wraps, for your _information._ Asshole.”

  
“Enough persiflage,” Ignis said, in a tone of resignation. “We’ve had it up to our ears today, and so we’re liable to rip each other to shreds if we keep making unnecessary remarks at each other’s expense. We ought to get an early night’s sleep and ready ourselves for another long day tomorrow.”

 Prompto groaned. “Can’t we just get a tomato, or something?”

“No,” Ignis said icily, and his tone said there was no room for arguments. “You knew what you were signing up for when you joined us, so you’ll bloody well do it. Now, decide who’ll split the couch and the bed and get ready to sleep.”

As Ignis descended into the bathroom to brush his teeth, Prompto made a face at his back. “He’s always so serious, damn. Someone needs to pull that stick out of his ass.”

“Iggy’s always been like that,” Gladio sighed. “Better do what he says before he lynches us.”

 Prompto turned to Noctis with a pleading expression, but Noctis just shrugged. He had been dealing with his advisor since he was a kid, and although Ignis could soften if wheedled persistently enough, there was no use in arguing with him when he was in a bad mood. Prompto’s shoulders deflated at Noctis’s response.

“I can’t be _bothered_ for this, man…”

"I know, I know," Noctis said, swatting his best friend in the shoulder. "Fighting is a pain in the ass, 'specially when Gladio's yelling down your throat every second telling you to stop skipping leg day.  _Asshole..._ But we gotta do it, y'know? We're the Royal Retinue, the Fantastic Fighters, the Princely Pioneers of Danger, the..."

"Gang of Virgins," Gladio called, entering the room with a shirt half on his body. "Well, you guys are, anyway."

"I would sell you to Bahamut for one fuckin' gysahl green, Gladio," Prompto said. "

"After all I do for you? Maybe you should be your own shield."

"... Maybe I'll up the price."

"That's what I thought."

As Gladio and Ignis took the double bed and Prompto took the single, Noctis was left with the couch, because he was always game to sleep anywhere, whether it be a battlefield or a hard floor, which made sleeping arrangements a little easier on the group. The chatter died down along with the lights, and as he settled down against the uncomfortable pillows, the exhaustion finally set in. He was absolutely  _shattered._ He was sure that, despite Ignis's dire warnings of what he would do to them if they slept too late, that he would be knocked out until midday tomorrow. How exhausting adventures were.

Unfortunately, Noctis's life was a long series of misadventures, and it was only a matter of time before another one came along.

But for now, he would enjoy sleep. Hopefully the next one wouldn't come for a long time.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Oh Noct, you thought. I'm not sure what it is about this I don't really like, but I think it's just that curse that comes with rereading your work over and over again and dissecting every flaw. I hope you enjoyed this first segment of the story! I have a feeling this will be fun to write. I would greatly appreciate constructive criticism if you could offer it! Thank you!


End file.
